The Impact of EU Enlargement on FDI Flows

In the enlarged European Union (EU) with 25 members, the free movement of capital, coupled with the free movement of goods and services should be a major direct attraction for both intra-EU and external foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. EU membership does not, however, lead to a linear increase in FDI inflows as many analysts suggest (ECE, 2001). With EU accession, the structure of FDI may change substantially (Hunya, 2000; Dyker, 2001). Activities based on the existence of closed domestic markets (e.g. food and beverages) and on cheap labour (e.g. assembly activities) might be reduced, or even closed down, giving way to more knowledge-intensive activities in the new EU member countries (Kalotay, 2004a). FDI in the new EU member countries is not yet on an uninterrupted growth path. In the pre-accession phase (1995–2003), the relative importance of new EU members in global FDI flows when compared to that of the “old” members of the EU, was actually shrinking. Thus, if new members want to use FDI as one channel for catching up, they have to reverse this trend and increase their inward FDI quite rapidly.